Yellowtail flounder

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Yellowtail flounder
An image of the brown oval-shaped upperside of the yellowtail flounder
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Pleuronectiformes
Family: Pleuronectidae
Genus: Limanda
Species:
L. ferruginea
Binomial name
Limanda ferruginea
(Storer, 1839)
Topological relief map of the Northeast United States and Atlantic Canada, showing the range of Limanda ferruginea along the continental shelf in red
  Range
Synonyms
  • Platessa ferruginea Storer, 1839
  • Pleuronectes ferruginea (Storer, 1839)
  • Pleuronectes ferrugineus (Storer, 1839)
  • Limanda vulgaris Gottsche, 1835
  • Limanda oceanica Bonaparte, 1846

The yellowtail flounder (Limanda ferruginea), also known as the rusty dab, is a species of flatfish in the family Pleuronectidae (righteye flounders). Reaching 56 cm (22 in) in length, it has reddish brown upperparts, pale underparts and yellow fins. Both its eyes are on the right (upper) side of its body. Found in the western North Atlantic, it has been fished commercially by North American fisheries for food. A victim of overfishing, the yellowtail flounder is categorized as "Vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Taxonomy

The yellowtail flounder was originally described by German naturalist

Myzopsetta in 1861.[6]

According to 1996 research from the

cladistic morphological and genetic analysis found that the genus Limanda is not monophyletic; L. ferruginea and its relatives the longhead dab (L. proboscidea) and speckled flounder (L. punctatissima) are in a different subfamily to the other members of the genus and should be (once again) placed in the genus Myzopsetta.[8]

Description

The yellowtail flounder is a wide

caudal peduncle (area between body and tail). Being a right-eyed flounder (of the family Pleuronectidae), both its eyes are on the right side of the fish's body, though the eyes are symmetrical just after hatching.[10][11] It is thinner than other flatfish.[12]

The fish's head is approximately a quarter as long as the total body and is scaly. The eye's diameter is approximately one fifth the length of the head. The yellowtail flounder has a prominent lower jaw with broad lips, about as long as the eye. The scales are ciliated (having hair-like protrusions) and appear on the head as well. The teeth are small.

anal fin has a similar outline, but is only composed of about 60 rays. Relative to other flounders in the Gulf of Maine, the yellowtail flounder has a narrower and more concave head, with a pointier snout.[9]

According to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), yellowtail flounders can grow to a length of 56 centimetres (22 in), weighing up to 1 kilogram (2.2 lb).[10][11] Specimens up to 8.1 kg (18 lb) have been caught before.[14]

Distribution and habitat

The yellowtail flounder is found in the western

Newfoundland and southern Labrador and as far south as Chesapeake Bay. It is common on the Scotian Shelf, on ocean banks such as the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and Georges Bank.[16]

Three fish stocks exist in US waters: in the Gulf of Maine area, on Georges Bank, and off southern New England and the Mid-Atlantic.[10] In Canada, yellowtail are concentrated in NAFO divisions 4X (Browns Bank, near Georges Bank, at 42°49′37″N 66°13′02″W / 42.826895°N 66.217355°W / 42.826895; -66.217355), 4W (Sable Island Bank, 43°49′50″N 60°50′12″W / 43.83067°N 60.836686°W / 43.83067; -60.836686), and 4V (Banquereau, 44°32′08″N 58°35′02″W / 44.535498°N 58.583968°W / 44.535498; -58.583968).[16][17]

The larvae of L. ferruginea remain near the surface for two months, but after maturing to a length of at least 14 mm (0.55 in), they dwell on sandy or muddy seafloors at a depth between 30 and 100 metres (98 and 328 ft).[10][12] As they live considerably deeper than other species of flounder, they are rarely seen along shores.[9]

Ecology

Yellowtail flounders have been reported to live up to seventeen years, but most die by age seven. They mature relatively early with females being able to reproduce by age three,

spawning in the spring and summer. The eggs (measuring approximately 0.9 mm (0.035 in) in diameter) float to the surface and drift for approximately two months.[10][12] The early larval stages closely resemble that of the winter flounder, though the appearance of the fin rays differentiates them.[9]

They eat

mysids, and shellfish) as well as marine worms, and are preyed on by other fish such as spiny dogfish and skate.[10][12] Yellowtail flounders are able to camouflage, changing the pattern of their skin to mimic the seafloor.[14]

Fishing and conservation

Yellowtail flounders have been commonly fished in

otter trawls were introduced to fisheries in the area. In 1908, a total of 1,400,000 kilograms (3,000,000 lb) of yellowtail and winter flounder was caught near Cape Cod, an estimated half of which was yellowtail.[9]

In the US, fishing of yellowtail flounder is governed by the NMFS.[10] More than 526,000 kilograms (1,160,000 lb) of yellowtail flounder was commercially caught in American waters in 2020 (the vast majority in Massachusetts), valued at over $1 million.[18] In federal waters, there is a minimum allowed size of 330 mm (13 in).[14]

Populations of fishable yellowtail flounder have declined from the 1980s into the late 1990s in Canada, especially in divisions 4V and 4W, after which the rate of fishery declined.[16] L. ferruginea is currently categorized as "Vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.[1] According to the University of Maine, yellowtail flounder are being overfished, as well as several other species of flounder.[19] According to NMFS, the fishing rate is being reduced at Georges Bank and there are rebuilding plans to increase populations of all three stocks.[10]

Yellowtail flounders are fished between late fall and spring, usually with a

gillnet.[10][19] Hooks are ineffective as their mouths are small.[9]

As food

Yellowtail flounder is sweet and mild, while being a lean source of

niacin. The texture is delicate and flaky.[11][19][20]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T17710A7362225.en
    . Downloaded on 25 March 2018.
  2. ^
    WoRMS – World Register of Marine Species. Archived
    from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  3. ^ Archiv für Naturgeschichte (in German). Nicolai. 1835. pp. 160–161.
  4. ^ Storer, David Humphreys; Peabody, William Bourn Oliver (1839). Reports on the Fishes, Reptiles and Birds of Massachusetts. Dutton and Wentworth, State Printers. pp. 142–143.
  5. ^ "Limanda limanda (Linnaeus, 1758)". WoRMS – World Register of Marine Species. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  6. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 13: 1–63 [51]. Archived
    from the original on 2021-09-27. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
  7. doi:10.20381/RUOR-16625. Archived
    from the original on 2021-09-27. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  8. S2CID 5009041
    .
  9. ^
    U.S. Government Printing Office
    . pp. 495–500.
  10. ^
    NOAA Fisheries. 2021-08-30. Archived
    from the original on 2021-09-26. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
  11. ^ a b c "Yellowtail Flounder". ThisFish. Archived from the original on 2021-09-27. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  12. ^ a b c d "Yellowtail Flounder". Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Archived from the original on 2021-09-27. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  13. ^ Günther, Albert Carl Ludwig Gotthilf (1861). Catalogue of the Fishes in the British Museum. Wheldon & Wesley. p. 447.
  14. ^ a b c "Yellowtail Flounder". Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. Archived from the original on 2021-10-06. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  15. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2018). "Limanda ferruginea" in FishBase. February 2018 version.
  16. ^ a b c "Yellowtail Flounder". Fisheries and Oceans Canada. 2016-12-19. Archived from the original on 2021-10-23. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  17. ^ "Place names – Query by name". Natural Resources Canada. Archived from the original on 2021-09-17. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  18. NOAA Fisheries
    . Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  19. ^ a b c "Maine Seafood Guide – Flounder". Maine Sea Grant. Archived from the original on 2021-09-27. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  20. ^ "Yellowtail Flounder". FishWatch. Archived from the original on 2021-09-26. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
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